Every week seems like a new beginning in these times. With Massachusetts entering the second phase of reopening today, we can expect to dine indoors, get massages and perhaps even a haircut. Offices, too, are now permitted to go from 25 percent to 50 percent capacity.
However, not everyone is "going back" to work. Some of us never left. That is certainly true of The Engine, the venture arm spun out of MIT, based in Cambridge. The Engine, which had two of its companies working on Covid-related research, continued to stay open as an essential business.
"We asked everyone to work from home starting March 12," said Emily Knight, head of operations at The Engine. "We suddenly went from 200 to maybe 10-15 people a day."
While it made organizing tricky, Knight said that the top priority was for management to track, monitor and support the teams that showed up to work everyday. While away, the rest of the team hopped on their daily standup calls every morning.
What's different now? Everyone needs to go through a temperature screening process at entry, and get a sticker which works as an entry badge. Anyone who fails the screening will be barred entry. The Engine isn't allowing guests or visitors either. There are cleaning stations on every floor and most surfaces are contact-free and touchless.
Cafeteria and gathering spaces remain closed to discourage people from "lingering," Knight said. The management is also asking its members not to use the phone room.
"Fear is in the background, but the people who are coming in are happy to be there," Knight said.
